Shin Sekai! Number Ten!
by Fifth-Of-Fourth
Summary: Set after the two years timeskip. Before the Thousand Sunny dives for the Fisherman Island, the crew experienced an unexpected encounter with Ace, who was revealed to be alive with the help from Law. Throughout the years he spent while Luffy was training in Amazon Lily, Ace decided to join the Strawhat Pirates in order to aid Luffy in becoming the next Pirate King. AceLu
1. A New Addition

**I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE**

Two years after the Summit War of Marineford, the Strawhat Pirates were finally able to meet up with each other after their intensive training.

Luffy had grown quite a deal ever since then. The more physical traits could be seen on his body whereby he had developed a lot more muscles than before and a broader shoulder. He was still skinny now but it was on a much normal level compared to before he had started off with his insensitive training. Of course, his fighting skills had leveled up a whole lot ever since whereby it could be seen that he wasn't just fighting on an impromptu.

Other than the physical traits, his eyes had lost most of the childishness and naivety that he had once held. Due to the loss of Ace, he had definitely grown a lot more stronger and less oblivious towards the darker side of things. However, his carefreeness and friendliness still remained as a part of his personality. Only that whenever he cracked jokes and whatnots, it would seemed as though he was doing it consciously.

But not many would be able to tell.

After barely managing to escape from the marines stationed at Sabaody Archipelago with the help of some of their old friends, they finally managed to set out to sea but only being stopped by the navy ships that were coming in their way to stop them. But before one could even approach near the Thousand Sunny, Boa Hancock intervened with her own ship in order to allow the gang to escape.

But they could only manage to get so far.

"There are marines coming from the other side as well!" Usopp announced.

"Drats. Is there any way to avoid those shitty bastards?" Sanji cursed and tossed his cigarette onto the ground to step on it in aggravation. "How persistent. Looks like we have to deal with them personally before we can proceed."

Before any of them could formulate their impromptu plans, another ship intervened the Navy's as well. Luffy could definitely recognize which pirate gang did the ship belonged to. Heck, he was sure that he would never forget the flag blowing along with the wind in pride as it approached it's enemies' demise.

"I-Is that-"

"Don't let the Navy come any closer to the Strawhat Pirates! Attack!"

"Macho!" Luffy shouted out happily.

"It's Marco, yoi!" Was the irritated response Luffy received for getting his name wrong.

Everyone looked on as Whitebeard's ship sunk the Navy's ships one by one in fascination. They knew that they had talented crews onboard but they were not actually afraid of sinking the Marine ships. In fact, they were serious about sinking them!

Suddenly, one of the Marine's ship had burst into flames and a silhouette could be seen in the distance.

Luffy's eyes grew wider in disbelief when the image had became clearer to him. No-it couldn't be. It couldn't possibly be _him_. Luffy had been sure that he wouldn't be able to see him again but there he was in front of him unless Luffy must be seeing things. Even the rest of his crew members, except for Franky, Robin and Brooks, had their mouth hung open when they had realized who was the one who had landed on Whitebeard's ship after the flaming damage had been done.

"A-Ace…"

Soon, many more ships belonging to their current Captain, Marco, had arrived to aid the attack while the main ship sailed itself towards the Thousand Sunny. It seemed as though time had stopped for the most of them as the cogs was turning in their heads and trying to assure themselves that what they were seeing was nothing like a ghost. After reading the news on the battle in Marineford, it was kind of difficult to see someone who was reported dead smiling at them with a smile they all knew very well.

"Yo," Ace greeted and hopped onto the deck of Thousand Sunny when Marco's ship came near enough. "In case you're wondering, some friend of yours named Law patched me up after you had left. I was planning to look for you but he told me that it would be impossible to find out where you were."

Of course he wouldn't, Sanji grumbled in his mind.

"A-Ace… I-Is it really…" Luffy found himself stuttering as he looked at his grinning brother with wide, teary-almost teary eyes.

"Ah," Ace responded with a grin. "Looks like I am able to watch my little brother to become the Pirate King after all. Since pops is… not around anymore. I have decided to help you out instead and of course, my crew supported me and brought me here. I would like to take on your offer back from in Alabasta if you don't mind."

"Ace!" Luffy finally couldn't hold it back anymore and proceeded to glomp him. "I-I thought that you were gone for good!"

Ace chuckled but returned the hug nonetheless while the crews from both side watched. "Idiot little brother. Don't pronounce me dead so easily. And what did I say about crybabies? I'm going to leave you behind one day if you keep on doing that," he teased.

"I-I know," Luffy grumbled softly and lifted his head up from his chest. "Stupid Ace. You could be a bit more nicer about it."

"Oi, don't even start complaining," Ace retorted.

Marco coughed into his hand to get their attention after deciding that their brotherly moment was over for now. In fact, they would have a lot more time engaging in such in the future. "Uh, I think you guys better go on quick before the Marines decided to get backups, yoi."

"Yeah! Thanks a lot, Macaroons!"

"It's Marco!"

Ace and the rest of Marco's crew laughed at his annoyed, flustered face before the former bided his crew farewell. The Thousand Sunny finally dove into the seas and the coating on their ship formed into a protective bubble for them as they sailed down inside of the ocean. Nami had taken on the job of guiding their ship since she was sure that the rest of their crew (other than Franky or Robin) probably wouldn't have the attention span to do so.

Some of them were already planning on wrecking havoc on their own ship!

"It looks like you have new friends ever since Alabasta," Ace remarked… although two of said friends were weird on a much different level.

"Robin Nico. I am an archaeologist," Robin introduced with a smile.

Ace bowed his upper body down politely in response before lifting his head up again. "Ace. And I was one of the commanders on pops's ship."

"My name is Franky and I am the builder of this ship, the Thousand Sunny. Nice to meet you, Ace," Franky greeted politely.

"Likewise. It's amazing that you managed to build this ship. It looks really grand," he complimented with a grin, making Franky like him instantly.

"Yohohoho! My name is Brook. It is a pleasure to meet you."

That would be the weirdest one in the group-other than the talking reindeer.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too… Uh, what are you exactly?" Ace decided to ask.

"Hmm? I am a skeleton, of course. Yohohoho!"

"I can see that but are you a ghost or something?"

Brook's posture stiffened up at the mention of one of the things he was most terrified of-which was kind of ironic since people usually thought that Brook was one. "Eek! Ghost? Where? I can never stand the sight of them!"

"Huh…" Ace murmured.

"How about I use Gattling Gun to get all those fishes, huh?!" Luffy shouted while preparing his fists.

"Good idea. I will use my swords and we will see which one of us would get more!" Zoro piped in challengingly.

It was followed by two loud sounds of bonks of punishment and followed by a series of groans by the victims on the ground.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO DESTROY US?!" Usopp shouted in dismay.

"IDIOTS! IF YOU TRY THAT, I WILL REALLY KILL YOU!" Chopper screamed.

Nami groaned at the both of them and held her forehead with a hand. "I don't even think that we would be able to survive this if those two continues on with their antics. I guess we're lucky that we have Luffy's big brother to keep him from doing anything stupid."

In which said big brother chuckled in agreement.

Sanji had took this time to look at Nami as she spoke, causing his defiled sight to suddenly became purified-too purified at Nami's beauty compared to the hell of demons he had to face ever single day in two years of his life. His eyes widened considerably as the gush of blood spewed out from his nose in a much pressured force than before, causing him to fly towards the bubble… which promptly so-called kicked him out.

"SANJI!" Chopper cried out in dismay.

Luffy used his outstretched hands to catch Sanji to bring him back to the ship when he felt that his body was starting to weaken. "Th-the sea! I can't pull my arms back!"

"Try harder, Luffy!" Ace encouraged as he and Zoro pulled each of Luffy's arms until the arms finally rebounded back, bringing Sanji back to safety. Was it him or had Sanji's reaction towards women became a lot worse than before. "Had this always happened to him after I left?"

"N-No! This is the first time I've seen him like this as well," Chopper stuttered as he tried to check signs of abnormalities with his crew member. "Second time, I think since his nosebleed was also as bad after we got onto the ship just now."

"The love-cook finally cracked?" Zoro joked.

"It's not funny!" Chopper exclaimed with teary eyes while flailing his little limbs.

Luffy laughed instead, thinking the situation more to be fun than what Chopper would think of as serious. He propped himself back onto the ground in between Ace's parted legs and leaned his back against Ace's chest. Finally, he could feel the weight on his body became lighter when Ace had revealed to be alive. Luffy had to remind himself to thank Law again someday when they got to cross paths.

Ace looked down at his brother with a wry grin. He had heard from Jinbe on how broken Luffy was when he was told that he was dead. Ace couldn't blame him as well for he would have the same-or worse reaction if he found out that Luffy was gone too. He was proud that Luffy had grown more mature-at least, Ace could tell that he had just by looking into his eyes although he was also regretful that it was his 'death' that had made him felt the pain to change.

"You are really here, aren't you?" Luffy murmured in a low tone.

"What? Do I look like an imposter?" Ace teased, settling himself onto the ground while not moving his feet which were planted at each of Luffy's sides. "I don't think anyone else would be able to stand you as much as I do."

"If you are then I probably have to beat you up for impersonating Ace," he joked back.

Ace could really tell from the tone that Luffy had changed a lot more. But whether it was for the better or the worse, he couldn't tell yet. But he trusted that Luffy would always stay true to what he had always believed in. Come to think of it, Ace had never expected that Luffy would grow up mentally or emotionally. It was weird and foreign to hear such a serious tone coming from Luffy during the lesser serious of times.

"You won't be able to defeat me anyway, lil' bro."

Luffy huffed at that and folded his arms while still leaning against the freckled teen. "You wouldn't know. I have grown a lot more stronger after training now."

"Oh? I will remember you said something like this the next time I save you from trouble."

Which Ace was pretty darn sure it will be a lot more than he could count. As strong as Luffy had gotten, the strawhat captain was still a trouble magnet and that would be a fact that Ace doubted that he could ever change. But it was because of that that Ace could protect him… as someone who cared about him more than just a big brother. So much more. And Luffy could sense that feeling within his own as well.

"Looks like our real adventure has begun," Robin commented.

* * *

I am still not sure whether I will continue this on (Which if I did, I would just make it into a multi-fic chapter which follows the storyline after the two years timeskip but they probably wouldn't be very connected) or leave it as such. But for now, I will just leave it in 'completed' since I am not very confident on completing this fic or if it is that good enough for me to focus most of my attention on. XD


	2. Under The Sea

Alright. Due to popular demands in the reviews, I've decided to bring this fic back to life. 8'D I have to warn you that I'm using the manga as a guideline thus you'll probably read what you've already gone through. However, I will try my best to keep everything you know short and simple so that we can have more of something different in.

On the other hand, this will be an AceLu fic but it's not as though you don't know me well. :P Most of you, I suppose.

* * *

Even when Nami explained to them about how the bubble works, Luffy and Zoro didn't seem to be planning to be careful. The only reason why Luffy hadn't participated in sinking all of them was because Ace was still holding him in his lap. Zoro did try but was intercepted by Chopper and Usopp even before he could unsheathed his sword. Their life was really hanging on a dangerously looking thin thread now.

Afterwards, Franky proceeded to inform them of Kuma's help in protecting the Thousand Sunny while they were gone. Considering that Ace and Luffy saw the Shichibukai fighting on the Marine's side during the war, the former was taken aback at the information. It only started to make sense when Franky explained that he had given up his personality before the war occurred. Luffy, on the other hand, only listened silently but that was because he was also munching on his piece of meat. Ace really didn't know if he was really listening or not.

"Hmm, I don't know much about dad but it seemed like he is a good guy after all, huh," Luffy commented.

"It's because of him that we were able to spend our two years apart wisely. We may never know what he was truly thinking at that point of the time but make sure that you remember this in your hearts, Bartholomew Kuma is the savior of our crew and the next time we meet, it'll be a heartless human weapon," Franky finished. "And that's all I wanted you guys to know."

"I'm thankful but I hope to know about the truth someday," Zoro remarked.

Luffy's attention was diverted to Sanji as the blonde cook roused from his state. "Oh Sanji, you're finally awake. Do you want some food? I got it from Boa Hancock when I was leaving Amazon Lily."

"Amazon Lily?! Are you sure that guy is some kind of savior?! Do any of you guys have any idea where I was flung into for the past two years?! What the hell kind of training did you get, Luffy?!" Sanji raged.

"Yohohoho! Would you like a song?" Brook offered.

"Don't even try to calm me down! I'll get even more angry and depressed!"

"But how far do you think we've come?" Luffy commented as he looked up.

"We can't even see any light from the surface anymore," Usopp added in.

"We should be pretty deep down by now but we still have a long way to go before we arrive at Fisherman Island," Ace said and hugged Luffy closer to him. "I doubt we're even half way there yet."

"We're coming to the end of the Twilight Stratum, I'd say. I think we must be over a 1000 down," Franky said.

Robin chuckled and allowed herself to enjoy the scenery. "It's so quiet down here and feels completely different from being inside a submarine. It's as though we're flying in water."

"Laboon!" Brook called out.

A school of whales swam across the Thousand Sunny.

It reminded Ace of his own crew... and Whitebeard who had given up his life in the battlefield. Blackbeard... he killed Whitebeard and there was no doubt that he would aim for Luffy eventually. That was one of the reasons why Ace decided to join the Strawhat Pirates. He won't allow that man to take Luffy away too. Another reason was that he wanted to witness Luffy's journey in becoming the Pirate King. After almost experiencing his death, he deeply regretted that he wasn't able to spend enough time with him. He could only listen to stories about Luffy's exploits through the mouths of others. If not, newspaper. It made him question himself on how much of an older brother and lover had he been all this time.

Even though leaving Luffy to his own was a good idea in terms of independence, Luffy probably wanted Ace to be by his side as much as he could. He never had the intention of having Ace to protect him from the beginning. All the both of them wanted was to prevent themselves from drifting away further from each other.

Right now, Ace wanted to make Luffy the Pirate King. It was Whitebeard's will for either of them to be. And since Ace didn't have any interest in being Pirate King, he wanted Luffy to have it. He had given up on pursuing the title long time ago and it was more fitting for someone as ambitious as Luffy to run for it.

"Look, Ace! It's old man Whitebeard!" Luffy called out.

"Yes, it is," Ace murmured wistfully. No doubt that Whitebeard must be watching over all of them now. His children and the world itself. "All the more you shouldn't get yourself into trouble," he teased.

Luffy snickered. "I can handle everything!"

"Sure, you can," Ace replied in a disbelieving tone.

"There's something approaching from six o'clock!" Usopp suddenly shouted from the side of the ship. "Guys! A ship is coming towards us from behind. It looks like a ship and it's heading straight for us!"

At that moment, the pirate ship which was pursuing them caught up and was ramming their ship against Thousand Sunny in an attempt to break into their ship. Ace almost let go of Luffy when the huge shake occurred but was able to hold him in place in the end.

"It's a pirate ship! They're ramming up alongside our ship!" Usopp cried out.

"Get away from them! The bubble is about to break!" Chopper exclaimed frantically. "We're all going to die!"

"Tch. Are they planning to board on our ship?" Ace grumbled and stood up along with Luffy.

Just as Ace said, Caribou was planning to jump onto Thousand Sunny when it was safe enough for him to exit his own bubble ship. It was then everyone, including Nami, recognized the animal who was pulling the other's ship towards their own.

"Mohmoo? You're Mohmoo from the Arlong Pirates, aren't you?" Nami called out. "Do you recognize me?"

As if the animal heard Nami's voice, his eyes glanced over to the female navigator and paused it's action for a moment before a series of flashbacks appeared in his mind. When everything came into place and the flashbacks died down, his eyes widened in a mixture of realization and fear, something that Caribou and his crew didn't pay attention to, obviously. They were too absorbed in their mission to notice.

"Hm? We've seen this guy before, right?" Sanji asked Luffy.

"Have we?"

At the voice and sight at two very familiar males, Mohmoo's eyes widened even further as more flashbacks flashed before his eyes. The memories of their attacks that landed a painful direct hit onto its body when it hadn't even delivered a single blow onto them made the animal sweat visible even when underwater.

After that, the most unexpected thing happened; Mohmoo fled from the scene, bringing the rest of Caribou's along with him. And during the process, Caribou managed to make a jump onto Thousand Sunny.

"Come along, men! While these guys are standing dumbly, we'll slaughter every last man on the ship and leave nothing behind! We'll kidnap the women and have them work for us," Caribou declared. "Don't bother standing around saying 'hello'! Just let those Gatling guns rip and tear all of them to shreds! Kill that whole damn Strawhat Pirates to death!"

…

"Eh?!" Caribou exclaimed after he realized that he was all alone facing the Strawhat Pirates.

"So it's just you, eh?" Ace smirked and cracked his knuckles. "I'm impressed. There isn't many who would make such a marvelous goal against this many people. I'll honor your gracious ambition. Prepare to die."

"Forgive me! Please don't hurt me! You can't do this to me! You can't just kill a guy and throw away his life so easily! G-God is looking down on all of you! All of you know that, right?!"

"Quit acting like you're innocent and all. Who was the one who was hollering about Gatling guns and slaughtering all of us, huh?" Franky asked as he lifted him up and threw him back onto the ground.

"Who the hell are you anyway? A captain of their ship?" Zoro asked.

"No, no, of course not! I'm just a guy they picked off from the sea and was forced to be their minion! Man, I was really hoping to escape from them. This is perfect! Could I stay on your ship for a while? Please?"

"W-Well-"

"Don't buy that! He's obviously lying," Usopp interrupted Chopper before he could say anything.

After they decided to keep the guy on their ship, they made sure to tie Caribou up so that he wouldn't escape from their sights. Naturally, he didn't seem like a threat to them but who knows what might happen if he were to try something sneaky. In Ace's opinion, ropes didn't seem enough but it was better than letting him roam freely. Meanwhile, Luffy was playing with him as he poked him with a stick. Where did he get that anyway?

"Luffy, don't do that. He might bite you and you'll get sick," Ace instructed as he pulled Luffy away.

"What are you hinting on, huh? And what are you supposed to be? The idiot's keeper or something?" Caribou snapped.

Ace looked down on him with the most threatening look he could muster. "He's my little brother." And lover.

"O-ops. I-I'll shut up now," Caribou mumbled and pretended to fall asleep.

"Hey Nami, aren't we going in a different direction than the log pose is pointing at?" Usopp asked.

"No, it's fine. Traveling slightly southwest from where the needle is pointing at is fine," she reassured.

But Luffy had something to say to that. "Why? It'll be quicker if we were to go straight from where it's pointing at, wouldn't it?" he argued.

"Ah... I'm having goosebumps all over my skin. Oh! But I-"

"-don't have any skin since you're all bones," Chopper finished for Brook.

"Chopper-san, you can't do that... You can't steal my joke..." Brook sulked in a corner.

Ignoring him, Nami started to explain. Soon, Brook, Ace and Franky joined in the explanation with their knowledge in an attempt to make the younger ones smarter.

"From what I've heard, the currents flowing along at the sea bed is at a very leisure pace. It was so slow that once a ship traveled down, it can take as much as two thousand years for them to surface again. For this reason, many legends surround the dark, unexplored regions traveled by these deepwater currents. Mighty beasts... curses... souls of the dead..." Brook chanted slowly.

"I'm getting excited!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Waaah! There are ghosts at the bottom of the sea?!" Chopper cried out.

"T-There are?! That's so scary!" Brook shrieked and jumped into the arms of the person nearest to him. And it happened to be Ace. "I'm so scared! Please don't let those ghosts get to me!"

"You were the one who was scaring yourself!" Ace reminded.

Brook seemed to have recovered from his panicked state soon enough and realized who was holding him. "Oh ho? What is this? I feel like there is something blooming between us. Ah but sadly, you don't wear panties. Yohohoho!"

"Uh huh, I don't," Ace said and dropped him shortly afterwards. "Please continue, Nami-san."

"Right. The important thing is, we're getting onto the current which is running from the surface currents to the deepwater levels. That way, we'll be taken down to the deepwater currents and reach the seabed."

"It's just like what we were saying about the bathwater. Where the water gets colder, the currents start to flow downwards," Robin chipped in helpfully.

"The Red Line is essentially a huge collections of islands joining together. There are 'Summer Island' areas and 'Winter Island' areas, just like anywhere else. The place we're heading towards now is an ice-cold "Winter Island" region. It's an area that perfectly fulfilled the other important condition for the current to turn sharply downwards as well."

"What is that condition?" Luffy asked.

Nami groaned and facepalmed. "You always asks stupid questions without thinking, don't you? Do you really want me to explain about saline density levels?"

"Salineden city? I think I might have been there as a kid..." Luffy said.

"Eh, a slaying dynasty? I would like to see that," Zoro added in.

"I'm giving up on you guys!" Nami snapped and the two idiots went into their own topics. But upon looking at Usopp's and Chopper's eagerness to know, Nami decided to continue. "Basically, the condition for the water to flow downwards are that it has to be cold and heavy. In freezing cold regions, you find ice forming in the ocean and when it does the salt content-"

"I see, so they are mystery currents," Luffy, Zoro, Usopp and Chopper said in unison after magically poured themselves each a cup of tea.

"I'm seriously giving up on all of you!" Nami snapped as a vein popped on her forehead.

"Would you like a song, Nami-san?" Brook exclaimed.

"By the way, Nami-san, if we're going to the New World, we can't rely on that log pose anymore," Ace pointed out. "In the new world, the islands are always changing, including the magnetic forces. There are also times whereby one will lose its magnetic forces completely."

"Huh? Then that means we can't reach any island," Nami exclaimed.

"Hm, our navigator back in the Whitebeard Pirates have a new type of log pose. I didn't manage to get ahold of it since I don't exactly know how it works. Hopefully, we can find one in the Fisherman Island," Ace said.

Nami sighed and buried her head in her hands. "It's one problem right after another."

"What... is that?" Sanji asked slowly as his eyes were focused on something before them.

"That's the downward plume," Nami said. "And it's almost like a gigantic undersea waterfall! The water is flowing all the way down to the bottom of the sea! Is it really going to be alright for the ship?"

Franky laughed at that and patted her back reassuringly. "Don't worry, Thousand Sunny can take it. It's made from the Legendary Adam tree!"

"Strawhat Pirates! Turn back now! We're all in danger!" Caribou called out. "There's a monster below! I've never heard that thing was living in these waters! The legendary demon that roams the vast ocean, slaughtering those in its way and earning itself the title of the enemy of humanity! It's..."

Ace narrowed his eyes when he finally managed to take a better look. "...The Kraken."

* * *

13 reviews... this is why I'm going to reply to your reviews here. XD

**angelrider13: Hahahaha! Don't worry, Ace has his mature and responsible side turned on whenever Luffy is around. On the other hand, I wouldn't say that they are going to be completely free from the crazy addition. **

**Katasana: I'll try my best to follow-up. I'm not the best in adding another character to the original plot mostly due to having to find an entry for his/her dialogue but I'll do my best. xD '**

**bbhelen93: Ahahaha! I'll put that in later chapters. Much later chapters. ;x**

**Tayani: It's going to be yaoi soon. :P **

**Kuromi: I'll try my best TTwTT This is going to be another long-winded fic, I'm sure. OTL**

**azab: Thank you and I will!**

**Midnight Kaito: Thanks alot and I am going to continue it xD**

**Neko-VongolaPrimo: Thank you and I'll try my best to see what I can do. 8'D**

**Vampireotaku: True. I've never read any fics like that before and I would like to read one myself too. 8'D In the end, I'm the one who is going to write about it. OTL**

**Sakura Ichigo Morihiko: I know. Ace is too awesome for anything-except for Luffy. LOL!**

**trisha23flow: Hahahaha! I'm going to continue this in the end. :P**

**Yuni: You think so? 8'D I'm afraid that I might disappoint you guys. D: I'm not very good at writing from the beginning and I don't want to ruin it even more. OTL**

**Natsu-dragneel17: I think there was one fic whereby Ace joined Luffy crew but it was somewhere from Lougetown if I remember correctly. It's quite old though and it hadn't been updated in a long time so I guess the author must've discontinued the fic. D:**

Wow 22 follows... you guys must have been wishing for this to continue xDD Anyway, here is the brand new chapter and...

Happy birthday to me! God, I'm turning 19 already... I feel so old. e.e


	3. VS Kraken

This chapter is a little short because I want to keep things tidy. Because this happens in the manga's timeline, I'm going to skip over to their reunion in the next chapter!

* * *

"What did you say, Luffy?!" Usopp cried out after listening to their captain's suggestion. But from the looks of Luffy's character, it shouldn't be merely just a suggestion.

"Let's tame that octopus and have him pull our ships," Luffy repeated. "Although the only problem is that we're underwater."

"And it'll be difficult for devil fruit abilities users like us to fight it," Ace added.

"Don't be stupid!" Usopp exclaimed and shook Luffy by the shoulder before getting him nearer to the railings so that he could see better while the others were doing their own leisure talks and things. "Look, the problem is the size of that thing! It could leave us dead whether we're in or out of the water! And we're not going to fight it!"

Nami decided to take charge after realizing that Luffy wasn't going to think about putting their safety first. "Set a course due south!"

"Nami! We should be heading for the octopus!" Luffy shouted.

"Don't be ridiculous! Look at the ships it's holding! Do you want us to become like them?" Nami argued back.

"Now, Nami-swan. I'm here to—BMMPGRRRHHH! To protect you."

"He held it in! Good going, Sanji!" Usopp praised.

"It must be thanks to the rehabilitation and the coat Nami is wearing," Chopper added in.

Meanwhile, Caribou was looking at them in astonishment at their lack of care of the danger that was ahead of them. While Usopp was doing his job of persuading his captain of changing his mindset, he instantly got distracted upon Sanji's condition.

Suddenly, he heard someone calling out to him and was delight to see that his crew had returned to save him. Everyone else looked at the ship with disinterest or with the lack of care. They weren't as difficult to deal with as the Kraken, after all. However, Caribou's hopes were shattered when the Kraken took ahold of his ship and crushed it within it's tentacle within a split second, leaving the rest of the crew exposed to drowning upwards.

A soft melodic song played for the brave dead.

"...They look like jellyfish," Zoro commented.

"Hahaha, you have a good sense of humor," Ace said from beside him.

"Shut up, the both of you!" Caribou shouted.

Out of nowhere, the Kraken started to act up again after finally taking notice of the Strawhat Pirates' presence. It swung its tentacles upward, intending to slam it upon the Thousand Sunny and wreck it into pieces, leaving the more sensible members of the crew in panic at their possible demise.

Luffy hurriedly bit his thumb to active his Third Gear while Zoro drew his swords. They didn't get very far when Usopp stopped the both of them from their reckless actions, reminding them that their attacks would just end up breaking the bubble. Nami took this change to order for the ship to escape from the Kraken. But when Franky told her that it was near impossible to do so, she started to panic too and once again, Luffy had another great idea.

"Don't do anything! Let's fight it," he suggested.

"You will break the bubble if you do!" Chopper cried.

"Since we have no choice but to fight, I have something with me," Ace suddenly said and gave the three fighters each a mini bubble. "This is called instant-kick coating. You can fight outside of the bubble with it and you don't have to worry about drowning or the lack of air. And most importantly, pay attention to the rope."

"Aren't you going to fight too?" Usopp asked.

"My attacks are fire-based and it can't do much once I launch it out of the instant-kick coating," Ace explained.

"Try to stay away from the ship, okay?" Nami warned the three of them.

Luffy held the rope and had an annoyed expression on his face. "This rope is a pain..."

With that, the three of them removed the ropes around them and hopped out of the bubble to fight the Kraken while they discussed among themselves who would be the one to take out the Kraken. Except for Sanji who was still in the midst of his 'attack' when he looked back to the Thousand Sunny whereby Nami was still at.

"You can't just go out without the rope! You won't be able to get back," Nami shouted.

"Those idiots..." Ace grumbled.

"Wait! It's still coming for us!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Franky... Rocket Launcher!" Missiles appeared on Franky's huge shoulder and were launched towards the tentacle that was about to destroy their ship, successfully obliterated it before it could.

"Aaaaaaahhhh! So cool!" Chopper, Usopp and Luffy said together in awe.

"There is another coming towards us!"

"Uwah!" Chopper cried out as it leaped up. _"Rumble! Guard Point!"_

With that, Choper's body expanded in a huge, comfortable looking ball of fluff and managed to prevent the tentacle from breaking the bubble. However, the force that was exerted despite Chopper's defense did send the Thousand Sunny flying towards an underwater mountain in full speed.

"If it's only for an instant," Robin said as she crossed her arm. _"Gigantesso Mano!" _

And they were saved from running into the mountain.

"_Third Gear! Armament Reinforcement!_" Luffy bit his thumb and expanded his fist into an abnormally huge size above his head, catching the Kraken's attention at the same time. "Urgh! The sea is draining my energy!"

"Blue walk!" Sanji exited his bubble and started off towards the Kraken in fishermen speed while recollecting his memories of his time in the Momoiro island. _"Diable Jamble! Bien Cuit! Grill Shot!"_

"What amazing speed! It's like a fishermen's!" Usopp said.

Zoro was next as he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. In a single second, six of Kraken's tentacles was sliced off while it looked as though Zoro didn't make any move. "_Santoryuu Ougi! Rokudou no Tsuji!"_

"Hold it, Sanji, Zoro! You guys are going to kill it!" Luffy protested as he focused his energy again. _"Gomu Gomu no Elephant Gun!"_

The large hand which was black with haki flew down towards the Kraken and slammed into it. The Kraken was instantly defeated at the force of the attack and was sent flying downwards into the current.

"He sent it flying!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Just how much stronger had he gotten?" Nami asked, also in surprise.

"Not bad at all," Ace commented proudly.

"There is something down there," Chopper announced. "A shark?!"

"A shark?" Luffy asked with great interest as he sat in the bubble.

Zoro had already gotten into a sitting position in his instant-kick coating and examining the shark. "That's a pretty big shark."

"Is that shark wearing clothes?" Sanji questioned.

While they were admiring the shark, the Kraken fell further into the downward current. At the same time, it also left an opening for the current to pull anything that was within sight, including Luffy, Zoro, Sanji.

"Luffy!" Ace shouted.

"They're being sucked into the downward currents," Robin said.

"If they are going then so are we," Usopp added in.

"Keep the yard straight! Turn the ship left! We're going to collide into the continental shelf!" Nami ordered. "Hang on tight, everyone! Keep to the center of the current!"

"This speed is crazy!"

* * *

When they woke up, they found themselves in a completely dark area.

"Ow... Looks like we're alive, at least," Usopp said as he pushed himself away from the ground. "Come on, guys. What is with the dead silence? Honestly you're all hopeless without me. Still, I don't know how to search for those guys in this pitch-black darkness."

"It can't handle dark places. Doesn't it feel like someone is watching you?" Brook asked.

"We must be 7000 metres down. At this depth, even the Shark Submerge would be crushed flat by the pressure," Franky commented.

"Are we getting close to the Fishermen Island?" Chopper inquired.

"Keimei said it was 10000 metres down," Robin replied. "I can't seem to find Luffy and the others either. It seems that we've lost all of them. I just hope they weren't torn into pieces by the sea monsters."

"Don't say such scary things!" Usopp cried out as Ace flinched at the thought of Luffy's demise.

"I'll brighten this place up," Ace said and stretched out his arms. "_Hotarubi!"_

Chopper and Usopp was easily overcame by awe as small green little balls of light floated around within the bubble. Soon enough, the brightness extended their line of vision around the area considerably.

"Don't touch those. It's dangerous," Ace warned as Chopper extended its arm out. "I'll keep it away from you guys."

When the group finally noticed their surroundings, they were met with the huge sea monsters lurking in the sea, also shocking the soul out of Chopper and Usopp at the same time. Some of them were too close to their ship for comfort. By then, Usopp and Chopper were already leaking tears from their eyes in fright.

Usopp looked around unsurely. "I just hope those huge fishes won't start coming for us."

"It's alright. The sea monsters at this depth are mostly blind because there isn't any light from above that could reach here," Ace comforted. "Most likely, they won't even notice this one."

"Your devil fruit abilities do come in handy. Now that I think about it, it isn't cold at all despite being this deep down," Robin pointed out with a smile.

"You're right," Nami said.

"Yeah. My devil fruit powers actively keep a large area around me warm, even when it was back in Drumland and it didn't snow on that day when I was there," Ace explained.

Usopp put his finger on his chin. "If your powers are active, wouldn't that mean that time when we spent at the dessert together when it was extremely hot..."

"Yup, it was me."

"It was you!" Usopp cried out and pointed at Ace who was laughing.

"This isn't the time to be talking about that," Nami argued. "We have to search for Luffy and the others as soon as possible before they drift even further away from us."

"Where have they gone off to in such tiny bubbles? Even if they are alive, the air won't last. It's too dangerous!" Usopp pointed out in panic.

Nami groaned and griped the sides of her head. "This is why I told them to use lifelines!"

"Luffy and the others will be fine. He has always been making other people panic over him with his recklessness," Ace reassured before looking to the side in gloominess. "Although I have to admit that the idiot did make me worry this time too."

"So there is even something you're not used to," Usopp said while sweat dropping.

"Being a big brother sure is tough," Chopper commented symphathetically.

Ace laughed instead and shook his head. "It isn't all that bad if you turn away from Luffy's recklessness. Let's cut the small talk until later and search for them instead."

* * *

I'll update the next chapter as soon as possible! I'm still trying my best to fit Ace into the story. xD

**Neko-VongolaPrimo: Thank you and I certainly hope so. I'm trying to keep the whole thing as smooth as possible while not include too much of what you guys already read from the manga. XD**

**Vampireotaku: I'm glad that you're happy! :D**

**samettikettu: Ahahaha! I can't imagine Ace wearing panties for his life. And thanks a lot! Oh, you're 19 too? Great! :D**

**Opinionated Asmodeus: I hope that I will do a nice job of it. 8'D And thanks a lot for pointing it out to me! I've edited the last chapter and checked the whole thing too. I can get a little careless even when I'm checking too. xAx I hope I can make it wonderful! 8'D**

**Midnight Kaito: Ace was pronounced dead so Caribou believed it firmly. Plus, he didn't get to see Ace other than in the wanted posters etc etc to have a good look at him. And yes, I agree! :D**

**Red-The-Drawing-Ninja: I'm glad that the new chapter brightened up your day! D: I know how it feels to have a bad day TTATT I will do my best for the rest of the chapters too. Thank you and oh! Another person I know who is 19! :DD**

**ASLfangirl: Ahahahaha! I decided to continue it since there are requests and I also wanted to read a fic whereby Ace travels with them. ;x**

**azab: Thank you and I'm glad that you liked it!**

**lonelydream19: Thank you so much! ; w ; And I know. My height makes me looks pretty small too but my bones are the ones causing me to dread over my age. xD**

**Dev's Inferno: Thanks!**

****Since this is my first time writing a fic that is based on the ongoing timeline, I'd appreciate it very much if you let me know if you have some qualms about any chapter! For example, including too much content from the manga etc etc. :3

Review, yeah?


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